Lin has three sources:

1, in terms of surname, is the descendant of Shang Tang's surname after Gao Xin of the Yellow Emperor, and its ancestor is Bigan. According to the Preface to Revision of Jin 'an Genealogy, Revision of Yuanhe Surname and other related materials, Shang Tang is a descendant of the son surname after Gao Xin of the Yellow Emperor, taking his place of residence as his surname.

2. Judging from the surname, Ji's ancestor had an illegitimate child. According to Tongzhi clan records, the illegitimate child in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was named Kai, and his grandson took his grandfather's word as his surname and called it Lin.

3. Change the surname from ethnic minorities. According to Guanshizhi of Shu Wei, after Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved to the capital, he changed a part of his family's original compound surname Qiu Lin into a single surname Lin, that is, Lin in Luoyang, Henan.